Vintage Motorcycle Show

Tomorrow, 10/10, @ 09:00, is a Vintage Motorcycle Show and swap
meet at Plano Kawasaki/Suzuki.

http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cach...cycle+show"++"plano"&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

I'm just passing this along from some friends. Neither I, nor they
have
any connection(s) with this dealership, event, or activities. If you
plan
to attend, please verify any/all details before learning that changes
may have taken place.

Without regard to your destination(s), please ride very careful.

 

10/09/2009 - ~13:00

I attended the Vintage Motorcycle Show/Contest at Plano Kawasaki/
Suzuki
this afternoon. The weather was tolerable, but not as acceptable as
was
forecast. This may have contributed to a less than robust attendance.
I'm
not sure, this was my first visit.

There was probably around 50 vehicles represented. With the oldest
being
a 1957 Sears & Roebuck(aka Allstate) 49cc scooter. Although I don't
recall
the scooter from 1957, I do recall a similar vehicle from my local
Sears &
Roebuck store, when my Mother would drag me along. This scooter was
stamped with a tag that noted it was made in Austria. I know many of
the
Sears offerings were manufactured by Puch, and Puch is in Austria.

I can't definitely recall all the different vintage bikes I saw today
at the show,
but I'll try and mention the highlights.

I saw a 1986 Honda V65. Having owned one of these in 1983, I was
espec-
ially interested in the condition of this one. It was very clean and
sharp, Many
pieces had been (re)painted/polished.chromed, but there was absolutely
no
mistaking the make/model. The owner was at the show with a companion
representing a Vmax. I didn't talk with the Vmax owner, but I suspect
it was
a mid-80's model as well.

Probably, the most impressive bikes at the show, were a couple of
highly
modified Yamaha 650/750 vertical twins. Neither of these bikes
remotely
resembled their factory beginnings any longer, as bot had been
modified
for flat track racing. While one of the bikes remained eligible for
street riding,
the other was reserved for track use only. I learned of a VFT.org site
where
flat track(Vintage Flat Track) topics are the discussion. Actually,
one of the
Yamaha trackers at the show is shown at the VFT site. I could only
find this
one, but I was told they were both there. Here's the one I found.

http://www.vft.org/StreetTrackers/Y-RonPearce1.jpg

This is the bike that is often street ridden. The image really doesn't
do it
justice, because it is really a gorgeous piece of equipment.

Actually, this VFT site has lots of interesting information and
pictures. I'd
suggest cruising the site when looking to burn some free time.

There was quite a few little moped type bikes, and various scooters. I
didn't
see any Sears Vespa's, Lambretta's, or real Vespa's. Additionally,
there was
a strong showing of 60's-70's vintage Yamaha small two stroke twins.

There was also a 60's Honda 125. The description noted that this bike
was
one of only 358 manufactured. I'd never seen/heard of a Honda model
like
this one before. It looked just like the old 150 dream, but was a 125.
Except for the color, the 1 of 358 125 Honda looked a lot like this:

http://k53.pbase.com/g1/39/611339/2/97890940.lnETGSF4.jpg

There was also an 80's era VFR750 Interceptor and CBR1000. Both of
these bikes were in pristine condition.

I also saw an old Bultaco dirt bike. It looked like maybe from the
70's or
80's, and appeared to be a 250cc.

I'm no Norton expert, and when I think of Norton, I always think of
the old
750/850 Commando series. But, I saw an old Norton that was built to
somewhat resemble Honda's Dream series bikes. Here is a web image
of a Norton that appears almost identical:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_PEJhMxaG-6U/SBScgEqvBZI/AAAAAAAAA64/THWEJIzPy2s/IMG_8607.jpg

I've "never" seen a Norton that looked like that, before. Obviously,
this image
is from an EU country. Perhaps Europe was the only country to receive
this
Norton model?

There were also a couple of gorgeous Honda CB750's from the early-mid
70's.

All in all, there were lots of great bikes presented, and lots of
great mem-
ories triggered by all the old bikes. I know I've omitted far too many
of
the vast selection. Next time, I'll bring a camera.

 

10/09/2009 - ~13:00

I attended the Vintage Motorcycle Show/Contest at Plano Kawasaki/
Suzuki
this afternoon. The weather was tolerable, but not as acceptable as
was
forecast. This may have contributed to a less than robust attendance.
I'm
not sure, this was my first visit.

There was probably around 50 vehicles represented. With the oldest
being
a 1957 Sears & Roebuck(aka Allstate) 49cc scooter. Although I don't
recall
the scooter from 1957, I do recall a similar vehicle from my local
Sears &
Roebuck store, when my Mother would drag me along. This scooter was
stamped with a tag that noted it was made in Austria. I know many of
the
Sears offerings were manufactured by Puch, and Puch is in Austria.

I can't definitely recall all the different vintage bikes I saw today
at the show,
but I'll try and mention the highlights.

I saw a 1986 Honda V65. Having owned one of these in 1983, I was
espec-
ially interested in the condition of this one. It was very clean and
sharp, Many
pieces had been (re)painted/polished.chromed, but there was absolutely
no
mistaking the make/model. The owner was at the show with a companion
representing a Vmax. I didn't talk with the Vmax owner, but I suspect
it was
a mid-80's model as well.

Probably, the most impressive bikes at the show, were a couple of
highly
modified Yamaha 650/750 vertical twins. Neither of these bikes
remotely
resembled their factory beginnings any longer, as bot had been
modified
for flat track racing. While one of the bikes remained eligible for
street riding,
the other was reserved for track use only. I learned of a VFT.org site
where
flat track(Vintage Flat Track) topics are the discussion. Actually,
one of the
Yamaha trackers at the show is shown at the VFT site. I could only
find this
one, but I was told they were both there. Here's the one I found.

http://www.vft.org/StreetTrackers/Y-RonPearce1.jpg

This is the bike that is often street ridden. The image really doesn't
do it
justice, because it is really a gorgeous piece of equipment.

Actually, this VFT site has lots of interesting information and
pictures. I'd
suggest cruising the site when looking to burn some free time.

There was quite a few little moped type bikes, and various scooters. I
didn't
see any Sears Vespa's, Lambretta's, or real Vespa's. Additionally,
there was
a strong showing of 60's-70's vintage Yamaha small two stroke twins.

There was also a 60's Honda 125. The description noted that this bike
was
one of only 358 manufactured. I'd never seen/heard of a Honda model
like
this one before. It looked just like the old 150 dream, but was a 125.
Except for the color, the 1 of 358 125 Honda looked a lot like this:

http://k53.pbase.com/g1/39/611339/2/97890940.lnETGSF4.jpg

There was also an 80's era VFR750 Interceptor and CBR1000. Both of
these bikes were in pristine condition.

I also saw an old Bultaco dirt bike. It looked like maybe from the
70's or
80's, and appeared to be a 250cc.

I'm no Norton expert, and when I think of Norton, I always think of
the old
750/850 Commando series. But, I saw an old Norton that was built to
somewhat resemble Honda's Dream series bikes. Here is a web image
of a Norton that appears almost identical:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_PEJhMxaG-6U/SBScgEqvBZI/AAAAAAAAA64/THWEJIzPy2s/IMG_8607.jpg

I've "never" seen a Norton that looked like that, before. Obviously,
this image
is from an EU country. Perhaps Europe was the only country to receive
this
Norton model?

There were also a couple of gorgeous Honda CB750's from the early-mid
70's.

All in all, there were lots of great bikes presented, and lots of
great mem-
ories triggered by all the old bikes. I know I've omitted far too many
of
the vast selection. Next time, I'll bring a camera.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wanted to go to that event, but Big Eddy had said he was coming over to
visit me and I was struck. You don't want to be gone when Big Eddy comes
over.

But, A, thanks to that detailed writeup I'm up to date, appreciate it. I'd
love that Norton.

I'd also like to have that V65 you had. It was, as they say, ahead of it's
time.

call a meeting sometimes

....louie

 

Yes, I really liked that V65. But, it stuck in first gear not too
long after my purchase. Being still under OEM warranty, I
returned it for a fix.

I had to argue with the dealer that I hadn't been racing, or
power shifting, or whatever. Finally, the reluctantly did the
fix. I never knew what was broken. The shifter drum just
wouldn't ratchet the next gear(2nd), so I had to ride home
in 1st gear. Something I definitely wouldn't recommend.

You know, even though that bike had a 6 speed transmission,
with 6th as an overdrive, it still ran just about 4K rpm at 60
moh. Of course, it redlined at 10K, but most of todays
comparably sized bikes run at least 70+ at 4K rpm.

My Valkyrie ran 85 at 4K, and the FJR is right at 80. I'm sure
a big twin like a VTX 1.8 or an M109 is even higher. That
(Road)(Strato)Liner is probably higher still.

But that V65 could really haul the mail. But like the Vmax,
the V65 was best suited at straight line hauling. <g>